Bow hunting for deer, elk, bear, caribou, moose, turkey, fish, or other game animals is a widely enjoyed sport. Individual states set laws dictating the legality of bow hunting including the permissible time period, type of game, designated hunting areas, and other factors.
Bow hunters shoot game in much closer proximity to the game animal than shotgun or rifle hunters. Also, unlike shotgun or rifle hunting, when an animal is struck with an arrow, it almost always runs long distances. The wounded animal is not always easily trackable. Bow hunters generally track the animal by following a blood trail, using scent hounds, following the disruption in the terrain, or luck. It can be very inhumane to the animal to prolong the suffering when the hunter cannot find the body, and it is wasteful if the animal dies and is not recovered by the hunter. A system that will make tracking the wounded animal more convenient or efficient is a useful invention.
Most electronic devices which track game use radio detection and ranging methods. A signal is transmitted by and/or between a transponder or transmitter unit (generally, a “tracking device”) which has been affixed to the animal, usually by way of an arrow or similar projectile, and a transponder or receiver unit (generally a “receiver,” collectively a “tracking system”) which indicates the direction and distance to the tracking device. The accuracy of the guidance provided by the tracking system is directly related to the measurement of various properties of the signal by the tracking system. These measurements are subject to error, which reduces the accuracy of the guidance. A system that will compensate for the error in measurement and increase the accuracy of the guidance provided by a tracking system is a useful invention.
The calculations performed by the tracking system are also subject to parameters not directly related to the transmission and receipt of the signal. Accounting for these parameters increases the accuracy of the guidance. A system that accounts for parameters not directly related to the transmission and receipt of the signal is a useful invention.